Amazon shifts are 10.5 hours (10 hours, 30 minutes with lunch) so there are two shifts four days a week. On Wednesday, the front half shifts (8 AM – 11 AM; 11 AM – 3 PM) overlap with the back half shifts (3 PM – 6 PM; 6 PM – 10 PM), so there are four shifts that day.
Key Takeaways
- Amazon has many different kinds of work hours because of its multiple departments and the length of the shifts varies between eight and six hours
- Amazon sort centers have four-hour shifts and they are known as flex-hours because here the employees can choose the shifts
- In most cases, Amazon’s day shift starts between 6am and 8am in the morning and lasts until 5pm or 6pm at night
- Amazon’s night shift starts between 5pm and 6pm in the morning and lasts until 5am or 6am at morning
Day Shifts At Amazon
Amazon has its own timetable that varies depending on your department and the location. For example, in a large warehouse operation, day shifts start between 6am and 8am in the morning and last until 5pm or 6pm at night.
Night Shifts At Amazon
It’s important to understand that night shifts at Amazon fulfillment centers are unique in their own ways. For example, some of the shifts can range from 5.00 PM to 5.00 AM, or 6.00 PM to 6.00 AM, and others may offer up either 10 hours or 12-hour shifts; again, this depends on both each individual site as well as the location itself (for example, many nights you won’t find too many 10 or 12-hour shifts in Tysons Corner because it’s not nearly anything like larger cities like Dallas or Chicago).
Employees working at Amazon fulfillment centers during night shift hours can receive shift differential pay for their arduous efforts which usually range from $0.50 all the way to $2 per hour depending on what exactly the situation is at that time and place!
Night shift work can be difficult for people who are not used to it because it interferes with your circadian rhythm and may clash with your personal relationships. However, if you’re willing to put in the extra effort and make those necessary adjustments, you should know that you’ll get paid more and night shifts aren’t always as chaotic as they appear to be on television they are often more of a relaxed environment.
Shifts At Amazon Sort Centers
Sort centers are some of the most convenient Amazon facilities to work for. They offer plenty of part-time jobs for those who want to work three to six days a week (or in this case, two consecutive days on any given weekend). As a sort center associate, you will normally only be asked to work four hours a day which can be less if they’re short-staffed or more if they need more people! Note that one of your shifts has to be at night or on Sunday/Monday at night when working here.
Flex/Anytime Shifts
We all want flexibility in our jobs that accommodate our hectic lives. So it makes sense why the Anytime Shift schedule is such a popular choice for Amazon employees! At Amazon, they are always working to make things more convenient for you, so check out the updated A to Z app used for employees’ preferred shift times. This will allow you to plan your work schedule days before (up to 15 days in advance)!
Anytime Shifts are only available to full-time workers at certain locations and usually you’ll have to work at least 20 hours a week (or more), which can be good or bad depending on how much time you really need to work. There are two types of flexible schedules: Flex part-time (Flex PT) and flexible reduced time (flex RT).
The table below is a comparison chart that clarifies the differences between FlexPT and FlexRT (please keep in mind that these details may vary depending on the location)
| FlexPT | FlexRT | |
| Minimum hours required | 20 hours a MONTH | 30 hours a week |
| Maximum hours allowed | 60 hours a week | 60 hours a week |
| Benefits eligibility | 401k and employee assistance program (EAP) only | Medical, dental, vision, EAP and 401k |
| Time Off Options | None | 36 hours PTO per year, 1.15 vacations every two weeks, 20 hours UPT every quarter |
| Base Pay Rate | $15 per hour regardless of current pay. Not eligible for Step Plan. | Current wage and eligible for Step Plan |
| Set Schedule | No | No |
| MET Day | No | No |
| How to pick up shifts | Sign up through the A to Z app | Sign up through the A to Z app |
| Shift differential | None | None |
| Amazon dynamic compensation eligibility | Depends on shift | Depends on shift |
Break Schedules at Amazon
You deserve a 30 minutes unpaid lunch break unless it has been specified that you’ll receive only 15 minutes (it should be a paid break). If the shift lasts for 10 hours, the policy is two 30 minutes breaks (one paid and one unpaid) or two fifteen-minute breaks (both are paid) and one unpaid half an hour lunch break.
Amazon’s policy states that associates are entitled to a break should they be working for five hours consecutively. If one is working overnight, lunch breaks can last between 40 – 60 minutes and short breaks may last up to 20 – 30 minutes.
Overtime
Working hard isn’t something that should be taken lightly. While some people might relish extra work hours, others might feel that the extra work is a burden. But Amazon has an incentive for employees to work overtime. When working overtime, employees are paid time-and-a-half. During certain periods such as holidays, some Amazon facilities do offer double overtime pay. This allows people to earn more in their paychecks!
Voluntary Extra Time (VET)
Associates can take advantage of some great benefits when they work extra hours and that’s by requesting VET which is voluntary extra time. When working VET, Associates should be aware that it’s considered overtime but will get paid at their normal hourly rate. They can request VET from their smartphone by opening the Amazon associate app. One important thing to remember is that VET must be requested in advance as it works on a first come first served basis for Associates who have worked 9 or more standard hours in the current or a previous payroll period.
Time off Task (TOT)
Amazon is what most of us would call a “high-volume” environment. This means that we are constantly under the gun in order to avoid workflow failures and delays. Efficiency and productivity are at the top of our priority list – but so is safety, cleanliness, and integrity. Therefore, every team member must have a firm grasp on the basics of TOT measurement (time over task) so as not to hold up other team members who might be behind them either by clocking in a bit late or getting stalled unexpectedly during their shift. For example – if your system shows you will be out of tasks at 6 pm but there’s one more left to scan at 6:20 pm – you could put the whole line behind you in jeopardy if you don’t return to scanning quickly!
Conclusion – Wrapping It Up!
As a part of the Amazon team, employees have the opportunity to work hard and play hard – each day is counted down as either 8 hours’ work (excluding lunch) or 12-13 hours’ worth of work depending on monthly demand. We understand that sometimes you’ll have more customers over other days but during days like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas deals among others which follow especially around this time of year it’s pretty common to work as much as 12-13 hours a day due to the influx of customers.
References:
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Amazon.com/faq/what-are-the-3-shift-hours-start-to-finish-at-the-amazon-warehouse-and-are-they-understanding-with-working-while-in-full-time-school?quid=1bms114d1aqgrfl3
https://nypost.com/2022/03/30/inside-12-hour-amazon-warehouse-shift-im-dead-every-time-i-go-to-work/
Last Updated on November 16, 2022 by Magalie D.
Magalie D. is a Diploma holder in Public Administration & Management from McGill University of Canada. She shares management tips here in MGTBlog when she has nothing to do and gets some free time after working in a multinational company at Toronto.
